The Gaza Youth Manifesto
The Gaza Youth Manifesto
December 2010
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| The Gaza Youth Manifesto | P | ar Gaza Youth Breaks Out Collective of young artists and activist groups from the Gaza Strip | Fuck the Hamas. Fuck Israel. Fuck Fatah. Fuck the UN and Unrwa (1). Fuck America! We, the youth of Gaza, are fed up with Israel, Hamas, the occupation, the constant violations of human rights and the indifference of the international community. | We want to scream, break through the wall of silence, injustice and apathy, just as Israeli F16s break the sound barrier above our heads, scream with all the strength of our souls to express all the rage that this rotten situation inspires in us. We are like lice caught between two nails, living a nightmare within another nightmare. There is no room for hope, nor space for freedom. We can no longer stand being trapped in this permanent political confrontation, and the darkest nights, under the threat of fighter planes circling above our homes, and innocent farmers shot simply because they are tending their fields in the "security zone," and bearded men parading with their guns, beating up or imprisoning young people who have their own ideas, and the wall of shame that cuts us off from the rest of our country and locks us in a narrow strip of land. | We are fed up with being portrayed as potential terrorists, fanatics with pockets full of explosives and eyes full of hate; fed up with the indifference of the rest of the world, the so-called experts who are always there to make statements and draft resolution proposals but run away as soon as it comes to implementing what they have decided; fed up with this miserable life in which we are imprisoned by Israel, abused by Hamas and completely ignored by the international community. | There is a revolution simmering within us, a huge indignation that will eventually destroy us if we don't find a way to channel this immense energy to challenge the status quo and give us some hope. The last blow that further increased our frustration and despair happened on November 30, when Hamas militiamen stormed the headquarters of the Sharek Youth Forum (www.sharek.ps, a very active youth organization in Gaza) with their guns, lies and aggression. They threw everyone out, arrested and imprisoned several people, and prevented Sharek from continuing its activities; a few days later, demonstrators gathered in front of the Sharek headquarters were attacked, beaten and some imprisoned. | It's really a nightmare within another nightmare that we are living. It's not easy to find the words to describe the pressure we are under. We barely survived the "Cast Lead" operation of 2008-2009, when Israel systematically bombarded us, destroyed thousands of homes and even more lives and dreams. They didn't get rid of Hamas as they had intended, but they scared us forever, and the "post-traumatic stress syndrome" has settled permanently in each of us, because there was nowhere to run from the bombs. | We are a youth with heavy hearts. We carry such a heavy burden that it prevents us from admiring the sunset: how could we, when threatening clouds block the horizon and frightening memories pass through our eyes every time we close them? We smile to hide the pain, we laugh to forget the war, we keep hope to avoid committing suicide right away. | In recent years, Hamas has done everything to take control of our thoughts, our behavior and our expectations. We are a generation of young people who have already gotten used to living under the threat of missiles, to pursuing the apparently impossible mission of leading a normal and healthy life, and we are barely tolerated by a sprawling organization that has spread through our society like a malignant cancer determined to destroy, in its spread, every living cell, every divergent opinion, every possible dream, paralyzing each of us through terror. And all of this happens in the prison that Gaza has become, a prison imposed by a country that claims to be democratic. | Again, history repeats itself in its cruelty and everyone seems to be indifferent. We live in fear. Here in Gaza, we are afraid of being imprisoned, interrogated, beaten, tortured, bombed, killed. We are afraid of living because every step we take must be seriously considered and prepared, because there are obstacles and prohibitions everywhere, because we are prevented from going where we want, from speaking and acting as we want, and even sometimes from thinking what we want, because the occupation colonizes our minds and hearts, and it's so awful that it's a physical pain, that we want to shed endless tears of revolt and anger. | We don't want to have hatred, to feel all this rage, and we don't want to be victims once again. Enough! We've had enough of the pain, the tears, the suffering, the controls, the limits, the unjustified justifications, the terror, the torture, the false excuses, the bombs, the sleepless nights, the senseless killing of civilians, the bitter memories, a blocked future, a desperate present, senseless policies, fanatical politicians, religious rhetoric, imprisonment. We say: ENOUGH! This is not the future we want! | We have three demands: we want to be free, we want to be able to live normally and we want peace. Is that too much to ask? We are a peaceful movement formed by young people from Gaza and sympathizers from all over the world, a movement that will continue as long as the truth about what is happening here is not known worldwide, and to such an extent that tacit complicity and loud indifference will no longer be acceptable. | This is the manifesto for the change of the youth of Gaza! | We will start by breaking the occupation that suffocates us, by freeing ourselves from mental confinement, by regaining our dignity and self-respect. We will keep our heads high even if we face rejection. We will work day and night to change the lamentable situation in which we are struggling. Where we hit walls, we will build dreams. | We hope that you, who are reading these lines now, yes, you, will give us your support. To find out how this is possible, write on our wall or contact us directly at freegazayouth@hotmail.com |